Circular loom



OcA 8,1946- C.' A. CALDES 2,408,732

cIRcLAR LooM Filed DBC. 16, 1944 v2 Sheets-Sheet l wif/5265565 BY f (Y www standing core 2| about spect to the `core 2|.

Patented Oct. 8, 19.46

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE l f 5 .2l-,408,732 j n yCIRCULAR LooM Y .Constantine A. Caldes, Jersey city, N. J. AppIicationDecember 16, 1944, Serial No. 568,481

14 Claims.

. 1 Y This invention relates to circular looms and has` especial reference to novel shuttle driving means and means for separating the warp for thepassage of the shuttles through the shed.

The principal object of the invention is the provision ofv improvements in a circular loom whereby the production of such loom is materially in creased.

Another object of the invention is to simplify the construction and the'mode of operation of certain features of a circular loom in order toV reduce original and maintenance costs.

v With the foregoing and other objects in view, the inventionY residesV in the combination, construction and operation of the parts hereinafter described and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in whichy Fig. 1 is a fragmentaryjhorizontal sectional view of a circular` loom embodyingv the lfeatures of the present invention, the section being'taken( approximatelyon the line. |I of Fig. 2.'

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the power transmitting rotor of the shuttle driving mechanism. Fig. 4' is a diagrammatic view illustratingv the sequence of operation of the shuttles. n

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the shuttle drivingpmembers.

Fig.` 6 is a perspective View of a warp thread:

shifter. c l.

The features' of the'present. invention may be incorporated inA circular looms of various types. Only so much of a loom has been `shown. for a clear understanding of the invention. 'I ,g

On reference to Figs.` 1. and 2 it willlbe 'apparent the loom' includes a shuttle driving. rotor I0 having a centralhub'.|1I"which'is journaled on a` central hollow shaft as'at I3, to the bed I4 ,of the loom frame |5. A bevel gear I6 fastenV the hub' meshes with a' bevel gear IIy fast on one end of a horizontal shaft I8 Vsupported by'bearings I9 and 20, respectively, on the bed I4. The shaft |8 transmits power from a suitablev source to the rotor Il)V through the intervention of the gears I6 and n. c, The upper end of the shaft I2y has an up- 'whichV thewoven tubular material vis-v to be' formed 2 to pass upwardly throughthe-tube -22 disposed coaxiallywith revThe tube 22 is fixed on a spider23 mounted on top of a drum 24 .in which the. shuttles 25 travel in.a.circular path.

The drum. 24 is iixedly supported I2. xedly secured,4

in vany suit-y able.A mannerI on. the., upstanding .flange 26'. on'

2 the bed I4. The drum 24 has a suitable number of vertical slots 21 through which the'warp threads 28 extend to the weaving point. It isl to be understood the warp threads 28 are guide-d from creels and are acted on by tensioning means.

The warp threads 28 are disposed radially as indicated in Fig. 1 in dot and dash lines.

In the present instance there are shownfour shuttles which are disposed in such. relation withrespect to each other that a proper weaving action may take place in which single alternate warp threads 28 are shifted to open the shed for the passage of the weft threads therethrough.

Each shuttle 25 includes a frame- 29 havingy anopening therein to accommodate a spoolY 30' of weft thread 3|. The spool 30 is operatively mounted on the frame 29 to keep its thread under proper tension andV said thread. 3| passes.

through a guide eye32 on a horizontal or lateral bers extension `33 onv the frame 29. The weft thread 3| passes. from the eye 32 to the weaving point at the core 2|. The shuttle 25 maybe of any preferred type, but in accordance with thepresent invention will have a lateral extension, such as the extension 3,3, or equivalent means, which cooperates with means. carried. around .by the rotor for the purpose of driving the shuttle, and at the same time enabling the passageV of the lower warp threads of the openshed. between the shuttle and the rotor.V TheA frame 29 has Va point 34 on its leading end, and a shoe 35 which slides in a circular passageway formed in the drum24.

The shuttle ldriving mechanism in addition to the rotor I9, includes driving members 3E, there being three of such members 36 used in conjunction with each shuttle 25 in the present instance. As shown most clearly in Fig. 5, each driving mem-ber 36 consists of a bar of metal of'suitable length and-rectangular in crossr'section. The upper end-31 of the member 35' is preferably round in cross-section. A cam roller 33 is mounted on the member 33 at one side midway between the ends thereof. The driving' members 36 are dis posed in notches 39, respectively, in the periphery'of therotor I0. The extension 33 ha's'holes tively, of the related group of three driving mem- 36. These driving members 36 are disposed vertically by reason of the notches 39 adjacent a stator 4| consisting of a ring having an un.- dulated or hill and dale groove 42 providing upper and lower cam surfaces 43 lwhich acton the rollers 38 while disposed in said groove 425. The

' provision and Iarrangement of parts Visf such. that atleast .onef-ofthev driving.l members. 3l6l .willlbe enposition.

gaged with the extension 33 at all times to impart a driving effort. At times two of the members 36 are engaged with the extension while the third member 36 is disengaged, and vice versa. Each driving member 36 is moved up and down by reason of its roller 38 and the cam surfaces 43 plus the rotatory movement of the rotor I 0. Each of the driving members 36 of each group moves down to allow each lower 'warp thread 28 to clear or pass between the shuttle and the rotor, and' then said member 36 moves up into engagement with the shuttle extension 33 for imparting a driving effort to the shuttle. manner each shuttle 25 is constantly driven around in a circular path.

The warp threads 28 normally lie horizontally in a plane slightly below the point 34 of each shuttle 25 as shown in Fig. 4. In order to shift alternate warp threads 28 upwardly from the normal position, there is provided shifting means as follows. A shifting member 44 is arranged in cooperative relationV` to the point 34 of each shuttle 25. The mem-ber 44 consists of a bar of metal of suitable length and is rectangular or non-circular in cross-section. The upper end portion of ythe member is enlarged somewhat and has an oblique or inclined surface 45. A cam roller 46 is mounted on one side of the member 44 midway between the ends thereof. The shifting member 44 is disposed to move up and down in a notch 41 in the rotor l@ at the periphery. The roller 46 is disposed to travel in the groove 42 to be acted on by the cam surfaces 43. These Asurfaces 43 in cooperation with the rotational movement of the rotor it move the member 44 upwardly which causes the surface 45 to act on the particular warp thread 28 and to shift the thread upwardly out of its normal position to be engaged by the upper inclined surface of the point 34. The shifting member 44 then immediately moves downwardly into its down position clear of the next warp thread lying in its normal The point 34 carries each upwardly shifted warp thread further to a maximum den gree, while alternate warp threads are shifted downwardly to open a shed for the passage of the weft thread 3| therethrough.

vvFrom the foregoing it will be understood the weft threads of the shuttles are interwoven under one warp lthread and over another in succession for the weaving operation. The use of a plurality of shuttles increases the speed of the weaving operation and so increases the production of the loom. Any suitable number of shuttles may be used according to the design of the loom. Also, the order in which the warp threads are shifted may be varied by changing the number and relative disposition of the shuttles.

I claim:

l. In a circular loom, a, shuttle, a stator to guide the shuttle, a rotor, shuttle driving members arranged on said rotor in relation to said shuttle for movement into and out of engagement with the shuttle while traveling with said rotor to drive the shuttle and enabling warp threads to pass between the shuttle and the rotor, and means to operate the driving members.

2. In a circular loom as set forth in claim l, wherein said driving members move up and down with respect to the rotor.

3. In a circular loom as set forth in claim l, wherein said last means includes cam surfaces on said stator.

4. In a circular loom as set forth'inclaim 1, wherein said last means consists of cam surfaces4 In this 4 on said stator and rollers on said driving members respectively which cooperate with said cam surfaces.

5. In a circular loom as set forth in claim 1, and means carried by the rotor which is operated by means on the stator to cooperate with the shuttle to open a shed for the weft thread of the shuttle.

6. In a circular loom, a shuttle having guided movement in a circular path, and driving members each movable into and out of engagement with said shuttle, said shuttle having holes therein to receive the driving members respectively for the aforesaid purpose, each of said driving members when engaged with said shuttle imparting a driving effort thereto along its circular path.

7. In a circular loom, a rotor, a ring stator surrounding said rotor, a shuttle having guided movement in a circular path, driving members arranged in peripheral notches respectively in said rotor and contacting said stator so that said driving members may move up and down While traveling around with said rotor, and coacting means on said driving mem-bers and the stator to cause the up and down movement of said driving members in succession, each of said driving members when moved up engaging said shuttle to impart a driving effort from the rotor to the shuttle.

8. In a circular loom, a rotor, a shuttle having guided movement in a circular path with respect to the axis of said rotor, a stator, said shuttle having spaced holes therein, driving members, and coacting means on the rotor, stator and driving members to operate the driving members to cause them to severally entersaid holes to drive the shuttle along its circular path in response to the rotation of said rotor.

9. In a circular loom, a rotor, a ring stator surrounding said rotor, said stator having a continuous groove therein providing upper and lower complemental cam surface, a shuttle having guided movement in a circular path with respect to theaxis of said rotor, driving members disposed vertically in peripheral notches respectively in said rotor and contacting said stator, each of said driving members having a cam roller disposed in said groove to cooperate with said cam surfaces, the provision and arrangement being such that the driving members move up and down in succession while traveling around with the rotor, and each of said'driving members in its up position engaging said shuttle to impart a driving effort from the rotor to the shuttle, and` each driving member in its down position in turn enabling each lower warp thread to pass between the shuttle and the rotor.

10. In a circular loom as set forth in claim 9, a warp thread shifter for lifting alternate warp threads to the action of shed opening means on the shuttle, and coacting means on'the rotor and stator to operate the warp thread shifter in timed accord with the movement of the shuttle.

l1. In a `circular loom, a rotor, a shuttle having guided movement in a circular path with respect to the axis of said rotor, a stator, a warp thread shifter, rand coacting means on the rotor, stator and shifter to operate the shifter at predetermined intervals in response to the rotation of saidl rotor, said warp thread shifter moving up 0 and down at said intervals While traveling karound with said rotor.

12. In a circular loom, a rotor, a shuttlehaving guided movement in a circular path'with respect to theiaxis of said rotor, a stator, a warp thread shifter, and coactingmeans on the rotor,

stator and shifter to operate the shifter at predetermined intervals in response to the rotation of said rotor, said Warp thread shifter consists ing of an elongated .member .non-circular in cross section and having an inclined surface on its upper end, and said shifter moving up and down at said intervals while traveling around with said rotor.

13. In a circular loom, a rotor having a guide groove therein, a shuttle having guided movement in a circular path with respect to the axis of said rotor, a warpI thread lifter operatively mounted in said groove to travel With the rotor in relation to the shuttle, and means for moving the warp thread lifter up and down at predeter- CONSTANTINE A. CALDES. 

